In The Well
by SilverOrb
Summary: Sesshoumaru has been trapped in a well for 500 years. When Dr. Higurashi Kagome just happens to stroll by, she manages to awaken him. Unaware that she is even a Miko, what is a modern day Tokyo girl to do?
1. Meeting The Well

Being late was rather out of the norm.

Perfection was something she always strived for. By default, that particular goal had included being punctual. Unfortunately, being late was something quite impossible to avoid due to a little ball of energy normally addressed as Shippo, Mrs. Takamura's son - and her ward the previous night.

Bane of babysitters (and kind neighbours) all over Tokyo, the boy had managed to '_redecorate'_ her house so thoroughly it resembled one of which had been ransacked. Damage control took time, and sleeping hours were inevitably reduced.

The inevitable result was tardiness. Car currently indisposed and in repair until the following week; her only alternative was to put her legs to use. She ran as fast as she could, trying to avoid slamming into innocent passerby's.

She was about to turn into a corner when her cell phone rang. Finding it hard to ignore the cheesy ring tone, she stopped with an annoyed sigh; flipped the device open and leaned against a lamp post, ignoring the incredulous stares from the people around her.

"Hello?"

"Kagome?" asked a woman's voice. It was deep and slightly hoarse, suggesting the owner had many hours of talking; no doubt a side-effect of being a psychiatrist. "Why do you sound as if you've been working out? You aren't, are you? I told you, you're _not_ fa-"

"Ayame." Kagome interrupted, frustrated at her friend's rambling. "I need to get to work. Is there anything important?"

"Not really..." Ayame began. "Wait, isn't it your day off today?"

"It can't be-_ Damn_," cursed Kagome exasperatedly, slapping her hand to her forehead. "I completely forgot! All that for nothing... So, what was it you called me for?"

"Erm, there's sort of a new friend I made at work a few days ago," trailed Ayame. "And he asked me out. Not knowing him very well, I asked him to make it a double date instead; and..."

"You need me to come along. I understand," said Kagome, biting her lip before a thought suddenly struck her. "Wait - Ayame, what have I told you about dating your patients?""

"My patients are only what they are because they are mentally or emotionally disturbed. And those with such problems are not suitable dating material. Correspondences should be restricted to appointments and paychecks." Ayame recited faithfully. "I know, but I'd like to give him a chance, he seems so sincere."

"Okay, sure..." Kagome said, giving in to her long time friend - subtly not bringing up the fact that the previous statement had been used to describe her previous dates of which had been anything but sincere. "Why didn't you ask Sango? You know how I feel about these kinds of things."

"She said she's going to Kyoto." Ayame replied automatically, as if expecting the question. "I think she mentioned something about meeting a perverted family friend - Mikuro or something. She wasn't too happy about it, but she said it was a family obligation..." Kagome could almost hear her shrug. "And you know how seriously she takes '_family obligations'_."

"Yeah..." agreed Kagome, thinking of the many times she had met Sango's - as she secretly referred to; narrow-minded father (Sango had preferred the term 'traditional' herself). I'll come by later for the details and everything, okay?"

"Thanks, Kagome! I owe you one. Bye!'

"Bye."

Sighing heavily, she wandered away from the sidewalk. She paid little attention to where she was going, her feet somehow working on its own. Her mind was full of thoughts ranging from her unpaid rent to what she was about to have for lunch.

When Kagome finally took in her surroundings, she found herself in what seemed a natural clearing with a somewhat weathered well as its centre. The air was fresh, the grass was beautifully green and Kagome realized that she had absolutely no idea where she was

It seemed unlikely that she was in Tokyo, with the lack of pollution and all. However, it seemed even more unlikely that she was anywhere else, considering that she had been walking for merely a few minutes.

Kagome backtracked and looked around her. Not recognizing any of the streets nearby, she decidedly declared herself lost and went back to the intriguing piece of untouched nature.

She sat down, leaning against the well, clearing her mind of her thoughts and took in the pleasant scent of clean nature. She felt a sense of belonging, as if she was meant to be there. Even the well seemed welcome her, or at least as welcoming as an inanimate object was supposed to be.

The slight breeze caressed her face soothingly and Kagome found herself growing drowsy. The entire atmosphere of the placed made her feel as if she was engulfed with thick, warm blankets. She closed her eyes and-

"Miko."

Her eyes snapped open immediately as she sprung on her feet, scanning the area. Unable to see anything suspicious, she categorized the sound she heard as temporal delusion due to weariness and breathed a sigh of relief. She sat down again and stretched her arms-

"_Miko._" The word was emphasized loudly, the owner of the voice clearly annoyed at being ignored.

Kagome blinked. She then conducted a simple examination of her senses -which included pinching her cheek and snapping her fingers near her ears to test her hearing. They worked. The voice seemed to originate from the well, she thought. She stood up nervously and peered into the well, biting her lip.

It was empty, with the exception of overgrown weeds and assorted plants she doubted had the ability to speak.

The voice that she heard was probably a side-effect of the expired milk she had forced herself to chug down, she summarized. After all, voices don't come from wells - and even if there was actually someone, it was unlikely that they were addressing her. She was no priestess. It all made very little sense. She never had such a violent reaction to bad milk before. Kagome willed herself to believe her speculation.

Her success was brief.

"**_Miko._**" The voice sounded more irritated than it previously was.

Kagome was about to childishly stuff her fingers into her ears, ignore the voice and go her merry way (if she managed to find her way home) when her curiosity beat her common sense.

"W-who are you?" she managed to ask, her throat strangely thick.

"Who I am is none of your concern." The reply came in a form of a cold, clipped voice.

"Excuse me!" Kagome retorted, annoyed, all fear of the unearthly voice she had been hearing suddenly gone. "What do you mean by that!"

"Exactly as I have said." said the emotionless voice again.

She blinked.

"Are you some sort of ghost?" she asked, staring at the air above the well, as if expecting something to materialize after she had made her guess.

"No."

Kagome blew air into her cheeks and crossed her arms, looking every bit like a sulking child, unsatisfied by the answer she had been given.

"At least," Kagome began, "Tell me where you are. So I won't look like a fool, talking to myself."

"There is no one around. And I will only answer if the information you bring contents me."

Kagome frowned, about to refuse the 'voice's' egoistical request when she decided to hear this mysterious 'person' before jumping to conclusions.

"And...?" asked Kagome, with an impatient tint on her voice.

"What has become of Japan?" There was a muffled note of curiosity in the 'voice' that Kagome had managed to catch.

"What has changed recently, you mean?"

"That would depend if your definition of your word extends to the past few centuries"

"That's a ridiculous question," Kagome cried, throwing her hands on her hips - now convinced that the voice was merely a prank that a few teenagers with severe mental disabilities had pulled on her. "You can see what's going on for yourself. Even if that was a valid question, I wouldn't be able to tell the difference anyway."

"I could see, I would not have asked for your help, Miko. You are more of an imbecile than I thought you were." said the voice with barely repressed annoyance. "I am restricted to smelling the changes and I have just awoken - something that I gather is what you are responsible for."

"Smell? How? I can't smell anything..." Pondered Kagome, before reality struck her and she realized that the entire situation was a little too surreal to be true. "Wait - you kids can't just find something constructive to do, can't you? Entertainment centers practically flooding the town and you decide to play a low rate joke on the local doctor."

"Miko, what are you talking about?" demanded the 'voice'. "I am no 'kid'. I am Youkai and I am getting rather irked at you constantly skirting my question."

"Y-youkai?" stammered Kagome, her heart racing at the word. "I thou- No, Youkai do not exist, whoever you are."

"You try my patience." The voice said, as if she was one of the few who had the doubtful honor to do so. Kagome could almost swear she heard a hint of gritting teeth. "I am Youkai and I am breathing. Your nose is inferior and cannot sense what I can. Now answer my question."

Kagome huffed silently, slightly incensed at being bossed about by a voice that apparently came from a disembodied Youkai.

"You really are an arrogant prick."

"Now that we have established that, answer the question."

"Japan has been a place of great prestige, with technology rivaling western countries and trade well-known throughout the world." Kagome droned, feeling as if she was reciting a textbook. "Our culture is constantly studied by people from other parts of the world due to its uniqueness.

There was a snort from the Youkai.

"If this is so," it drawled. "Then why do I smell the world slowly dying?"

Kagome flinched.

"Many forests are cleared for progress - and pollution is a constant battle," she explained slowly. "But more people are realizing that progress does not necessary mean the depletion of the Earth's natural resources and more ways to preserve and conserve what the Earth has left to offer is practiced.

"That does not sound very convincing, Miko."

"It isn't," said Kagome defensively. "But we are trying. Now that I have answered your question, it is your turn to answer mine."

The 'voice' growled, apparently not pleased.

"I will not degrade myself to break my word just to spite a wench who thinks too highly of herself." the Youkai said. "Ask."

Kagome decided to ignore the insult hurled at her and instead focused on satiating her curiosity. "Who are you?"

"I am Sesshoumaru, son of Inutaishou."

Very specific, thought Kagome dryly. It did, however, feel a lot better knowing the name of the person she was conversing is - even if the name was quite strange. "Okay, Sesshoumaru." she said patiently. "Where are you? Why can't I see you?"

"I have answered one question in exchange for the single question I have asked." Sesshoumaru replied arrogantly. "It is my turn, I believe - to ask another question... What have become of all Youkai?"

Kagome bit her lip at the sudden change of topic. "Well," she began. "As you must have noticed, I don't think there are any Youkai in this time apart from you...?"

"You are untruthful." accused Sesshoumaru. "I can smell Youkai, only masked."

"If there are Youkai left," Kagome said irritably, "They must have come up with some sort of technique to hide themselves so that humans, like me," she spat. "Do not know of their existence. There's no point in me lying to a something I can't even see anyway."

"If you say so." The words were said with the air of someone who could not care less.

"So... Where are you?" asked Kagome, excitement clear in her voice. "Why can't I see you? And these questions are somewhat linked to each other, so don't even think of wiggling out of this one. Spill!"

Sesshoumaru sputtered. "Wiggle? This Sesshoumaru does not wiggle. Nor does this Sesshoumaru spill. You are making absolutely no sense, Miko."

Kagome barely managed to contained a giggle as she struggled to reply the Youkai with as much composure as she could gather. "It's just a manner of speech. You really are from a long time ago, aren't you?"

"I did nothing to suggest otherwise. A Dark Miko of whom I supposedly refused one too many times placed this spell on me."

"Spell..." Kagome stated disbelievingly. "_Right_. The second part of the question...?"

"From what I can observe, the spell has contained me inside this infernal well. I am not able to see outside this barrier. Apparently, creatures outside the barrier are unable to sense its presence."

"Oh." Kagome managed. She had a slight feeling that the _'creature'_ he was referring to was her but determinedly ignored it. "Wait - a Miko propositioned you? A Youkai?"

"She was a Dark Miko." said Sesshoumaru, unexpected sulkiness lacing his voice. "You are Miko, are you not?"

"Er, I used to live in a shrine. And Grandpa used to give me a little Shinto training - not that he was very good in the first place." Kagome said nervously, twiddling her thumbs. "Does that help?"

"Irrelevant." Sesshoumaru uttered. "You have enough spiritual power, albeit untrained. Can you break the spell?"

"No kissing right?" Kagome joked, despite her uneasiness. She paused realizing that Sesshoumaru would probably not recognize the culture references anyway. "Okay, scratch that. I'll try - Wait, will you answer more questions if I do?"

"You dare use my freedom as a bargaining chip?" asked Sesshoumaru with deadly calm. He paused, as if in thought and continued. "It does not matter. Incessant questions or no, there is no doubt that you will attempt to break this spell anyway."

"How would you know?" asked Kagome, pouting.

"Curiosity is radiating from every pore of your body."

"Fine," Kagome replied, feeling a little resentful. She scooted closer to the well and kneed before it. "What do I have to do?"

"Place your hands on the rim of the well."

Kagome did as she was told, feeling as if ants were running on the length of her arms. Goose bumps began to form.

"Eyes closed, concentrate only on the well."

By then, she could barely hear what Sesshoumaru was talking - there was nothing but the strange aura that emnated from the odd well and the slight jolts of electricity that coursed through her arms. It seemed to twine around her, snaking around her entire body. Her pulse was thundering in her ears. Something inside her was repulsed by the energy as it retracted before snapping - unwinding the spell from around her and the well.

The energy was unlike anything that she had ever felt. A glow of hear inside her chest warmed her as the spell began to fade.

It took several minutes for Kagome to be able to breathe regularly again.

"What did you do?" demanded an irate Youkai that apparently was still stuck in the well.

"I… I don't know." Kagome stammered, shivering slightly from the effects of the power she had felt.

"I am still unable to get out of this infernal barrier." Sesshoumaru grumbled. "But something seemed to have changed."

Kagome leant against the well, still dizzy from the earlier show of power (of which she had thought never existed just the previous day) –

And fell into the well.

No one could exactly blame her for screaming when she came face to face with a figure with long silver hair.


	2. Meeting Sesshoumaru

Sesshoumaru was in the midst of doing something he thought he would never do. Have a conversation, (though not a very civil one) with a human being - a Miko, but a human nevertheless. He never thought he would sink as low.

Which was why when said human fell unceremoniously on top on him, he was less than pleased. When she started to panic at the sight of something other than the bottom of an old well, he was admittedly irritated. Her flailing arms were, after all; smacking him repeatedly on his face - something that he did not take too well towards.

"I would appreciate it if you would kindly stop screaming and calm down, Miko." Sesshoumaru said; his voice strained with suppressed anger. He could not exactly kill his only hope for escaping from the humiliating barrier the dark Miko had set around him.

The Miko had wide blue-grey eyes and black hair, a rather common trait shared by humans of Japan. Said eyes focused on him once the Miko finally gathered her wits.

"Are you sure you are Youkai?" she asked insiquitively. "You look perfectly human for me. Except for the ears. And the eyes. And the hair. And the claws. And, ooh... The cool tattoos on your face."

Sesshoumaru was outraged, or as outraged as he could allow himself to be through the cold exterior that he had planted around himself. He had never been so insulted before - never been compared to a mere human, when he already despised ordinary Youkai.

"Do not presume such matters just because you have not seen me in my true form." He growled slightly.

"Suuuure..." said the annoying Miko, rolling her eyes; as if not believing him.

Sesshoumaru could feel red bleeding in the white of his eyes, his instincts demanding him to make her regret her words. His Youki flared and he could smell the acidic scent of poison dripping slightly from his claws. The fumes could very well make an ordinary human ill, but a Miko could purify the fumes enough not to be affected by it. In other words, all he wanted to do was to scare the girl a little, intimidate her and let her know her place.

The Miko merely goggled at his eyes.

"So you aren't lying after all."

"This Sesshoumaru, Lord of Western Lands; does not lie!" he said indignantly.

The Miko glared at the barrier around them, as if she could will it to disappear by mere thought. Sesshoumaru watched her, mildly entertained at her determination.

"Of course you don't… But how am I going to get out of here?" she finally wailed, after a few minutes when the barrier did not dissipate when she stared at it.

"This Sesshoumaru would suggest climbing." He said, pointing to the stone walls surrounding them. He crossed his arms and watched as a horrified expression crossed the Miko's face.

"What if I fall?" she cried, her eyes fixed on him, as if begging him for help.

"Even if you are human, I doubt death would come so easily." said Sesshoumaru dismissively.

"I'm not talking about death, but possibly severe injuries!" she complained, waving her arms about. "Concussions, dislocated spines..."

"And cuts and bruises that would probably take you but a few days to heal." He said, interrupting her rambling impatiently. Despite her animated ranting, he wanted to see whether she could get out of the barrier. He was not exactly pleased at the thought of spending the next few days with her until she finally dies of starvation. He could almost imagine the putrid smell.

"Hmph," pouted the Miko. He felt a flash of unexpected endearment and squashed it down before it could develop into anything else. She began to climb and Sesshoumaru enjoyed the view. He was, after all, male, and being sealed in a well for five hundred years was not much help. He was slightly surprised that she had enough strength to pull herself up, he had thought she was the kind of simpering human female who did nothing but eat and sleep like most of the spoiled Hime that he had met before.

"Oh. It worked." he commented, as he watched her exit the well with relative ease.

"Did you expect it not to?" he could hear her muffled voice from the 'outside' (as he had labeled it).

"I had thought the barrier might have blocked you as if had blocked me." he said truthfully, trying to figure out the complicated curse the damned Dark Miko had put on him.

"What!" screeched the Miko. Sesshoumaru's ears twinged slightly. "Wouldn't you even care if I had gotten injured?"

"The most the barrier could do was to block you, Miko." Sesshoumaru growled slightly. She was taxing on his patience the way no one could. (Which was mostly due to the fact that no one had ever actually dared to annoy him - the penalty was, as they all had known; death or the loss of vital body parts)

"Well, it did not," said the Miko in a huff. She was obviously angry and Sesshoumaru could almost picture her crossing her arms over her chest.

"That is... peculiar," he said, slowly revising the facts he had about the barrier. "It seems that you can escape but I could not."

There was a short pause from the Miko before she began to speak thoughtfully: "I wonder if I can get out of the barrier if I fall in again..."

"Would you risk eternal imprisonment with this Sesshoumaru should you be unable to exit?" he said dryly.

"I don't think that's likely to happen." said the Miko, as she put a leg (a rather nice one, he noted silently) over the well and began climbing down again. "The barrier might reject me from entering in the first place." As each leg crouched lower, closer to the barrier; Sesshoumaru felt anticipation clawing at his nerves. He was barraged by the possibilities of what would happen - and was not disappointed when she landed on her feet next to him.

"Ta-da!" she said triumphantly. Sesshoumaru could only stare at her blankly. When she noticed the lack of enthusiasm, she grumbled something that went like; 'bloody emotionless Youkai' and said: "Now to climb up the well one more time... Seriously, this is more exercise than I have been doing the past week."

Noticing that the comment was directed more to her own self, Sesshoumaru wisely refrained from insulting her intelligence yet again.

A few minutes of waiting later, along with an apparently scraped knee and a few random cuts from the irregular surface of the stone that built the well, the Miko stood outside the well once more.

"Do you think that anyone other than yourself can enter this well, Miko?" Sesshoumaru asked, once the complaints of the slight injuries had ended.

"I-I don't know," the Miko admitted. "I might bring Buyo along next time for confirmation."

"Wh-?" began Sesshoumaru.

"I've got to go! I promised to meet Ayame for the double date she set! I'll be back, soon!"

And she was gone, even before he could ask the meaning of the strange words she had uttered.

'How uncouth,' he muttered darkly to himself, wishing that the newfound attraction he had for this odd Miko whose name he didn't even know would go away.

***

"Where were you?"

A red haired, green haired young woman stood at the door, glaring at Kagome.

"I assumed when you said you would come over, it would be immediately." She raved. "Do you know I cancelled a prior arrangement with one of my patients just because you were coming?"

"Don't pretend it was a huge sacrifice on your part," Kagome laughed. "You and I know you probably cancelled Mrs. Utari's appointment – the woman you have repeatedly told her that she could easily find the solution to the diminutive problems that she appeared to always have if she merely found the time to mull over them a little. This is also the same person whom you only agree to see because she pays generously."

"That's not the point." Huffed Ayame. "Come in already."

Kagome entered the cozy three room apartment; a joint place Sango and Ayame had paid for. Kagome had stayed in the cramped apartment she called her home because it was paid for by her distant uncle who lived somewhere in China.

The apartment had a small living room with a kitchen of sorts attached. It branched into two equally small bedrooms that belonged to Sango and Ayame respectively. The two girls had managed to squash a maroon sofa, a quaint coffee table and a television that had been a graduation present from Sango's parents, despite the miniscule size of the room.

"So, when are we going out with your patient and his friend?" asked Kagome. "I need names to make sure I haven't seen them on the wanted ads, by the way."

"Kouga Ookami and his friend's name is Yeenu something, I can't remember exactly." Ayame muttered, shaking her head.

"Yeenu?" asked Kagome dryly. "That sounds interesting. What, is he foreign?"

"No, Japanese." Ayame replied, biting her lip as she walked towards the fridge, rummaged for a while before grabbing a mauled can of Coke and a bottle of juice. "But I heard he looks… different, slightly exotic I think. I remember Kouga telling me something about him but I can't quite remember."

"Er… Sure." Kagome said, blinking. She caught the bottle of juice with practiced ease. "When is this date again?"

"Kagome," Ayame said, squirming. "Don't-kill-me-for-this."

"Why? What are you talking about?" asked a confused Kagome, sipping at the juice as she lounged on the sofa.

"It's today, at six."

"Oh okay- _What!_" shrieked Kagome. "Whatever on earth possessed you to tell me on the exact day I'm supposed to go on this date?"

"Well," trailed Ayame nervously. "He kind of asked me yesterday, and it's safer for me to do that so you have less time to change your mind."

"Great," cursed Kagome. "So I'm resigned to a horrible day no matter what?"

"I'm sorry, Kagome." Ayame said apologetically. "But I really was drawn to him by his sincerity and I couldn't date someone new without a person I know around after…" her voice wavered and she paused, unable to find words to say.

"You know I'll do it for you, despite all the complaining," Kagome said reassuringly.

"Wait -why did you come over when we could have easily settled everything through the phone?" asked Ayame all of a sudden, true psychiatrist at heart; always trying to figure out motives behind simple gestures.

"Well, my phone bill had been reaching to extents not known to man." Kagome said, laughing. It was a half-hearted lie - obvious to Ayame who had been accustomed to Kagome's pathetic attempts to fib.

"Seriously, Kagome-" Ayame said with a sigh, plopping herself down on the couch as she toyed with a fluffy cushion. "Tell me. You know you can talk to me about anything."

"And have you explain in words I cannot understand about my behavioral patterns?" Kagome asked, frowning slightly as she faced Ayame. "Never mind - I know you would never do that to a friend. It's nothing."

"There is never 'nothing' when you act like that around me." Ayame said confrontationally. "I wish Sango were here, and then both of us would force it out of you; whatever's that's bothering you."

"Okay fine… Stop making me feel bad with your 'concerned friend' charade." Kagome complained. Ayame opened her mouth to rebut when Kagome raised a hand. "I know it isn't a charade. I'm just saying that because – I don't know. It's just that I haven't talked to mum for ages since Akito moved in."

"That's what's troubling you?" Ayame cried in shock. "You've been indifferent on that subject all this while. In fact, I, your best friend;" she said, almost self-importantly. "-didn't even notice that you were troubled until you came over for a mere thing as setting a date."

"You, as a human being; shouldn't even realize there was anything bothering me over an innocent act like me visiting you!" Kagome said, rolling her eyes. "As I was saying, before I was rudely interrupted…" she said dramatically, with Ayame groaning in response. "I haven't had a decent conversation with my mother for ages. I feel like a stranger around her, as if I wasn't her daughter anymore."

"It's probably because you weren't 'consulted' when your mother decided to have a man move in the shrine with your grandfather." Ayame pondered. "Souta's in Tokyo University, isn't he?"

"Yes, but let's not get sidetracked." Kagome said, nervously remembering the time where a conversation they had veered from the actual content of Kohaku's (Sango's younger brother who was aspiring to be the World's renowned cook) ramen to the colour of Hojo's underwear. (Kagome's colleague who had worn extremely low cut jeans that one time) "I want the close knit relationship I had with my mother to return – but Akito seems to be always there when I talk to her, hovering over us."

"Maybe you should arrange a get-together with her," suggested Ayame, unraveling one of the threads that was sewn on the cushion case. "It isn't as complicated as it seems to be."

"Of course it doesn't." replied Kagome with a sad smile. "It never does, at least to the outside observer."

'It is not you who feels awkwardness that should not exist between a mother and daughter. It is not you whose mother lives with a man that you do not know. The same man who might be replacing your father, whom you have always adored, in the place in her heart.' She silently said to herself.

"I guess so…" trailed Ayame. "I'm sorry Kagome."

"Thanks… Anyway, I have to go," Kagome said, picking herself up from the sofa. "I have an appointment."

"An appointment? Whom with?" Ayame managed to ask as Kagome hurriedly put on her slippers.

"The Lord of the Western Lands!"

Ayame smiled at what she thought her friend's bizarre sense of humour.

***

Kagome rushed back to her house, grabbed Buyo, a few random books and headed back to the well – surprised at how easy it was to find it; even with her perfectly lousy sense of direction. She had found her old bicycle in the shed (which she had somehow stupidly forgotten to use when she was rushing to work earlier that morning) and cycled with Buyo perched on the basket.

"You have returned." Sesshoumaru said, from the well; as soon as her feet touched the grass next to the well.

"Wow," mused Kagome. "Your auditory and nasal receptors really must be sharp."

"Hn." Acknowledged Sesshoumaru, who had appeared to be deep in thought. "Why have you returned, Miko?"

"My name is Kagome, Ka-go-me," emphasized said person, her hands on her waist. "I came back because I'm curious, I guess. And I don't really want to leave you to rot to death just from a lousy spell."

"Hn." Said Sesshoumaru again. "You have brought a cat."

"Yes," Kagome said, stroking Buyo's head gently. "I'm trying to see if other living beings aside from myself can enter the well. I don't think you would exactly appreciate it if I brought another human."

There was no response. Kagome took it as a silent agreement and jumped down the well with her arms wrapped around her cat and the books she brought in the satchel on her back.

Her feet touched the ground and she once again stood in front of Sesshoumaru. She looked in her arms to see nothing but air.

"It appears that only you can enter." He said calmly. "But it seems like your possessions can penetrate the barrier as well."

"Maybe it's because they're inanimate objects?" Was Kagome's hypothesis.

"Maybe."

There was silence as they both stared at each other wordlessly.

It was soon interrupted by a disgruntled meow.

"That's my cue to go," joked Kagome feebly. "I'll be back soon but I won't be here most of the times so I brought these books to accompany you. Or at least temporarily satiate your curiosity.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, merely staring at her. It perplexed her, after all; he had been so talkative earlier that day. She faced the wall and began to climb.

"Wait," he added out of the blue. "Thank you, Kagome."

A smile spread across her face. "You're welcome, Sesshoumaru."

***

"Ayame!" Kagome shouted, knocking Ayame's bedroom door. "What's taking you so long? They're going to be here any minute now!"

"Just a minute, I'm doing my hair!" said Ayame's muffled voice.

The door bell rang through the air, as if emphasizing the truth of Kagome's words. Kagome smoothed her white sundress and opened the door casually, slightly put down at finally meeting her date whose name was Yeenu.

When Kagome saw Kouga Ookami, she realized the true reason Ayame had accepted his offer for a date, despite their anonymity.

"Hello, I'm Kouga Ookami." A grinning black haired man said at Ayame's doorstep. "You must be Kagome."

"I am," Kagome said with a smile and a polite nod of a head. "I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance."

'Sincerity, my ass,' she thought with a smirk, as she appraised the good looking man standing in front of her. 'Anyone with half a brain could see that it was anything but!'

"Kouga's here already?" Kagome heard a squeal from Ayame's room. A few seconds later, she rushed out and wrapped her hand around her date's proffered arm.

"Kagome," Ayame said with a secretive smile, as if unveiling a great surprise – which in a way it was, if this Yeenu guy did not bore Kagome to deepest depths of hell. (She had a suspicion that Ayame already found out the exact name of her date but was keeping it a secret) "Meet your date, Inuyasha Taisho!"

And Kagome came face to face with a man with golden eyes and midnight black hair.


	3. Meeting Inuyasha

"Meet Inuyasha Taisho."

Her first thought was: "Whoa, deja vu."

Her second thought was: "_Damn_, he's good looking."

Her third was: "Contacts, definitely. Eyes that gold just aren't natural."

She also noted that there was a strange resemblance to a certain taiyoukai she had met earlier that day. Inuyasha Taisho blinked at her before wrinkling his nose slightly, as if smelling a particularly bad smell before offering his hand as Kouga did. Kagome quickly squashed the urge to sniff at herself reciprocally, it was after all; not part of any dating protocol she was aware of.

"Hello," said Inuyasha in a forced tone. "It's nice to meet you."

Kagome paused for a few moments before reaching for Inuyasha's extended hand.

"I'm doing this for Kouga." Inuyasha whispered, as soon as Kagome was in hearing range. "So don't get any ideas."

She flinched, as if slapped. She had never expected him to be so rude – all romantic notions were soon discarded as easily as yesterday's cheese.

"Be assured," she hissed, glaring at him. "I never will."

And so, the date began, much to Kagome's dislike.

The food was good, the music was delightful, the decorations of the restaurant were tasteful but the company, however; was rather disappointing. Especially when Kagome was getting increasingly annoyed at the barely subtle sexual insinuations that Kouga had kept throwing at her.

She could see Ayame's patience wearing thin. Of course, Inuyasha's determination at showing nothing but hatred towards her wasn't exactly very helpful either.

And there was something strange about his eyes when he looked at her, an expression that seemed to be a mix of awe, hurt and something else she couldn't identify. She was confused, after all – she had just met Inuyasha and yet, it seemed there was something strangely familiar about him.

At the very least, he was presently ignoring her, a step up from open hostility, and a gesture she welcomed with open arms; especially in a disastrous date such as this. Hopefully, he would soon grow be more amiable and stop treating her like the dirt beneath his feet. Of course, Kagome knew that pigs would also gain the miraculous ability to fly by then.

Noting Ayame's expression from Kouga's newest 'witty' joke, aimed at Kagome, she began to pray for divine intervention. Or at least, something that might probably shift the mood of the torture she was in. There was, after all; only so many times one could endure boasts on one's sexual prowess and offers to prove it.

- Divine intervention then happened to come in a form of Inuyasha's prayer beads…

"What is that?" she asked tentatively, trying to make small conversation despite knowing that she could probably prompt a more positive reaction from a rabid dog.

"It was a gift," he spat with malice. Kagome's eyes widened slightly and her gaze wandered to his fingers gripping the rosary almost unconsciously. His eyes flashed, the prayer beads were obviously a sensitive subject. "It's none of your business anyway, you nosy bit-"

"Osuwari." Kouga interrupted quickly, his voice holding warning. Inuyasha flinched in return. "Inuyasha, remember..."

Inuyasha flinched and merely glared at Kouga, slightly subdued.

"It's a gift." He repeated again, and looked at Kagome sulkily. With his arms crossed, he looked ever the picture of a spoilt brat - an adorable spoilt brat, not that Kagome would ever admit it. She knew that he was attractive, she'd had to be a blind, withered old crone not to; but it hardly meant that she had to put up with his lousy excuse for manners.

She stood up, rattling the silverware on the immaculately laid table.

"Look, Inuya-," she caught herself. "Taisho, if you don't lik-"

"Well!" Ayame said loudly, trying to dissipate the tension successfully interrupting Kagome's ranting. She pointed out of the window. "Look! The sky is so... erm... _black!_"

The other three stared at her, unfazed.

"Okay, if you guys want to fight, so be it." Ayame replied, crossing her arms and fixing a glare at both Kagome and Inuyasha; effectively shutting Kagome up before she could protest that her date wasn't the best of company either. "But Kouga and I will be leaving."

"We will?" managed Kouga, before he was dragged out of the restaurant, cutlery and all. Heads turned to look at the petite figure in painfully high heels dragging a man a full head taller than her.

"Why do you hate me?" Blurted Kagome, as soon as the other two were out of sight. She had wasted her entire evening, and it nagged on her mind. Especially when she had done nothing wrong, unless of course; she just stank – which would explain why Inuyasha's nose wrinkled when he first met her.

"I… I don't hate you, bitch." Was the answer.

"Sure you don't, bastard." Was her reply.

"No, I don't, bitch. Either you believe me, or you don't. You just remind me of someone."

"So I'm supposed to believe the reason you have been glaring at me the past hour was due to my resemblance to someone whom I don't even know?!" ranted Kagome. "And especially with you constantly calling me a bitch?"

"Exactly."

"…Fine. At least let me have the pleasure of knowing who it is that caused you to hate me due to the way I look."

"I don't owe you anything, wench."

"Sure you don't, you egoistical piece of shit. But I'll constantly annoy you throughout the entire night if you don't tell me."

"Fine... You really are a bitch," he argued, without heat. "Let's get out of here. We're not going to enjoy anymore of the crap here anyway; instant ramen beats all that anytime; hands down. Let's hope Kouga settled the bill before leaving with the tail between his legs."

"Let me guess," Kagome replied, rolling her eyes skyward. "You don't carry cash around with you. And don't think for a moment that you're getting out of this so easily."

"I would never, it was someone I… once cared about." Inuyasha started "Her name… It is- _was_, Kikyo.

"Oh, what was she like?"

"Well, she mostly looked and sm- erm... like you. I mean, there's something about you that really seems to strike a chord."

"That doesn't exactly answer my question."

"She was quiet… Serene mostly, you can just feel at peace whenever she's around. I guess the only thing that can truly be said about Kikyo was that she was lonely."

"You really love her, huh?"

"It doesn't matter, she betrayed me. We didn't live happily ever after, the end. No fairy tale ending for the both of us."

"What? Didn't she love you?"

"Not enough, apparently." He said bitterly, as Kagome saw what seemed raw pain flash across his face. He reached the door to her home and finally faced her.

"Look, I'm sorry for being a jerk." Inuyasha began. "It's just kinda part of who I am."

"I can tell that," Kagome replied dryly. "It's okay, though. Friends?"

"Friends."

And that marked the end of their_ date_.

* * *

Sesshoumaru's ears twitched as he heard the rustle of leaves above him. It was heavier than an average wild animal. The subtle clink of something hard, of which he recognized was similar to the strange high shoes that Kagome wore. He was positive it was another torture device that humans invented to fulfill their sadistic pleasures. After all, since his last visit to China of which he had the pleasure to view tiny bound feet; consisted of mangled bones and a foul stench; his opinion human sanity had dropped a few levels.

It took a while before the scent of the person approaching reached his nose, the pleasant, natural smell of wildflowers and the hint of perfume.

Kagome.

He disliked her, for the very fact that she was unpredictable, different. She was loud, boisterous in a way that the refined ladies from the past era he was used to would find completely uncivilized.

The worst of it all was the fact that he was so very dependent on her. He hated being dependent on anyone, it was even worse that the person he had to completely rely on was human. He had nothing to offer her, nothing that would bind her to the promise of getting him out of the well. There was absolutely no reason for her compulsion to break his curse.

He wanted a weapon, either Toukijin or Tetsaiga; just something other than his bare hands. There was a possibility that it might help him in some way or another, else the Black Miko would not have taken the effort to actually remove it from him.

He would have continued pondering about his sad and dismal fate before Kagome landed on top of him again once again.

His voice muffled by the ground, he managed to grit out; "Miko, is it impossible for you learn the simple skill of climbing?"

"But jumping's half the fun!" she pouted, climbing off his back suspiciously slowly.

"Why are you even here?" he demanded, brushing off dirt from his clothing and straightening them. "I doubt you managed to obtain enlightenment in the amount of time you left me."

"Of course not." Kagome returned, not offended by Sesshoumaru's quips. "I merely wanted to see you."

A strange feeling welled up his chest. It seemed familiar, a feeling he recognized faintly as hope th-

"Nothing personal of course," Kagome added quickly, a blush staining her cheeks. Hope crawled up its metaphorical hole and died instantaneously. "There was this weird guy I went out with today, and he sort of reminded me of you. And I just wanted to make sure you were, er, okay."

Sensing Sesshoumaru's discomfort, she babbled on.

"Not that you can't take care of yourself or anything. Just- just, to make sure."

Sesshoumaru's attention had wandered at that point of time, focusing on the strange, new scent that was intermingled with hers. His brain only registered three facts before his façade of calamity was cracked. It was not his. It was male. And thus it did NOT belong there.

"Who were you with?" demanded Sesshoumaru heatedly.

"Um." Began Kagome intelligently. "A friend of a friend of Ayame."

"Great, it must not be anyone you are familiar with." Sesshoumaru said regally, his calm returning. "There will not be any problems if you omit all contact with him then."

Kagome's mouth dropped.

"You definitely did not just ask me to cut all ties with my date." Stated Kagome disbelievingly.

"Of course I did not."

Kagome blinked.

"I merely stated something that is sure to happen, inevitable."

"No. Way." Kagome said, after five consecutive surprised blinks.

"No way," she repeated, shaking her head. She rubbed her eyes as if trying to get rid of imaginary fatigue. "There is no way you just said that. I mean; I can't believe you just said that. You definitely did not tell me not to see someone when you have no claim on me whatsoever."

"It appears I already have," drawled Sesshoumaru, unaffected.

"How could you?" Kagome erupted. "What right do you have to tell me what to do with my life?"

Cringing slightly from the sound, Sesshoumaru replied, "It is only right for you to listen to your betters"

"SE. SHOU. MA. RU!"

"Your hands, Miko. They're glowing." Sesshoumaru said, a warning tone in his voice. "I suggest you keep them to yourself immediately."

"My name is KAGOME." Kagome stated with gritted teeth. "I'm looking for a way to set you free and the least you could do is call me by my name. And my hands are NOT glowing."

"Well, Kagome." Sesshoumaru began tentatively, his survival instincts kicking in, as Kagome approached him with a less than friendly countenance. He didn't want to kill her, his only way out, nor did he particularly want to be purified, thus the need for diplomacy. "I completely agree that your hands are not glowing. In fact, they're merely smoking. Small thing indeed, very normal, in fact."

Kagome looked down at her hands, eeped loudly and proceeded to frantically bat it against the walls of the well; trying to stop whatever happened to her hands, of which looked as if were on some sort of pink fire.

"It's your spiritual power, Mi- Kagome," Sesshoumaru interjected helpfully, taking pity on she-who-lost-her-temper. She seemed as if she was approaching hyperventilation. "You just need to reign in your emotions, if you are capable of that, that is."

Kagome glared at Sesshoumaru, before taking in deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself.

"Look, I work. I need to go now, before I fall asleep whilst playing bus boy." She said in a rush of words, leaving no doubt that she was still agitated.

Sesshoumaru stayed silent as she climbed out the well. He didn't, however; resist the urge to peek up her dress despite his relatively bad mood. The realization that the male scent that he had identified was the scent of masked Youkai only came much later.

Sections of the well closest to Sesshoumaru's hands promptly suffered for it by melting into mush; courtesy of his acidic claws.

* * *

Kagome wondered what the many years of studying in university had been of use. It didn't matter that her qualifications had outweighed several of the practitioners in the tiny little clinic she worked in. Merely because the Shikon Clinic was the first place she had officially practiced in, she was treated as the clinic's bus boy. Her "work", (the term was rather objective) mostly comprised of her running around and obtaining coffee for the senior doctor who practically ran the place – Naraku.

One would wonder how much coffee a clinic needed, especially one with a staff as small as Shikon. However, Naraku was an avid coffee addict and requested one every hour. Of course, it hardly filled her working hours; but coupled with other strange errands Naraku and his cronies had conveniently needed urgently done; it was enough to tire Kagome out at the end of the day.

The only sort of doctoring she had been doing was restricted to treating her neighbors - especially their children, when they fell ill. It annoyed her to no end, as healing was something she loved explicitly. She also seemed to be especially good in it, as her patients seemed to heal in a rate faster than she diagnosed they would - although it could probably be just her imagination.

Her ability to do so might be tied in to what Sesshoumaru said about her being a Miko. But learning more about it would require her to speak to him, something she was trying to avoid at present moment. She was just so confused at how he acted towards her and…

She shook her head, trying to focus her thoughts on her present task, going shopping and getting the strangest assortment of items on Naraku's grocery list. Apparently, Naraku's grocery list had items imperative for the survival of Shikon. Knowing how eccentric, bordering insane Naraku could be at times, she was afraid to risk it.

' If only they could give me a chance!' she thought, unleashing her frustration on an innocent apple, fingernails piercing the fruit. Dumping it into the shopping basket as a means of a little revenge, she proceeded to the counter.

Before she left, she saw a sign proclaiming sales on cell phones.

A thought struck her and she dutifully checked her steadily shrinking wallet.

* * *

"Look, cell phone." Kagome said patiently. "Say it with me, cell. Phone."

Sesshoumaru looked at the person in front of him incredulously, or as incredulously as he could manage without loosing his semi-emotionless exterior. The demeaning way of speaking she insisted on speaking was bad enough, but she just had to accompany it with hand gestures. Her anger at him the previous day seemed to have disappeared, not that he wasn't grateful; but the sudden change in mood was unnerving, so to speak. His thoughts suddenly wandered to the male scent he had detected on Kagome.

"Stop." Sesshoumaru commanded. "I have something to ask of you."

"That's rude." Kagome said reproachfully, pursing her lips. "I'm just trying to help you with the cell phone."

"This has nothing to do with that absurd excuse for a method of communication. Who is the guy whom previously escorted you?"

"Erm." Kagome began nervously. She wasn't sure if it was a wise idea to reveal the name of her date. Somehow, she had a feeling that Inuyasha wouldn't be able to escape unscathed once Sesshoumaru knew who he was. Of course, it was quite ridiculous that Sesshoumaru would hunt down Inuyasha just for "his scent on her", but the possibly existed. "Taisho. Why do you want to know anyway?"

"The man is Youkai. Don't ever go near him again. He is dangerous."

"What?" Squeaked Kagome. "Not this again. Aren't you Youkai as well?"

"I am different." Was the answer. He managed to make the excuse sound so logical that Kagome couldn't help but agree with him.

"Okay," stated Kagome slowly, mentally crossing her fingers. She hated it when someone told her what to do. It merely made her yearn to the opposite just to be contrary. Sesshoumaru's command was going to be severely broken. She was after all, curious about Youkai, and though Inuyasha might be antisocial; he could probably tell her all the things she was afraid to ask Sesshoumaru about. Before he was even brought up by Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha would have probably been filed up in the "Bad Date" section and forgotten almost immediately. "Anyway, lets get back on track. This is, once again; a cell phone. It is a contraption for communication and stuff."

Kagome rambled on about the many functions of the new phone she had bought while Sesshoumaru stayed silent, as if in deep thought.

"What do you want, Miko?" He asked suddenly.

"It's Kagome," Kagome corrected, rolling her eyes. "What I want is for you to learn how to learn to use this phone in its proper manner without destroying it when I paid quite a bit for it. And stop interrupting me, it's getting tedious for me to continually remind you to use the same manners you're so proud of."

"No, not that." Sesshoumaru replied, closing his eyes. Shaking his head, he continued. "We have met for barely two days. You offer help despite our lack of familiarity, and have yet to request payment. What exactly it is you want? The pledge of my service? My non-existent lands? My-"

"Hey!" Interrupted Kagome righteously, she crossed her hands. "I don't want anything like that! What makes you think that I want anything like that?"

"No one does anything for nothing, Miko." Came the cold reply.

"You _must_ be joking."

"I assure you, I am not."

"Well, I _am_ a very selfish person, Sesshoumaru." Kagome said playing along. "I need, _crave_ the feeling of being used like a old dishrag. It's why I help every single person in my way, really. From abandoned kitties to damsel in distresses."

"… If you say so." Sesshoumaru said, resignedly. He refused to try to understand Kagome. Previous attempts had left him without success and his head aching horribly

"Anyway, we've known each other for more than two days…" Kagome trailed, waving her hands animatedly. "It's about, I don't know, 50 hours? That's close to 3000 minutes, almost 200,000 seconds? Doesn't it seem like a long time?"

Sesshoumaru paused for a while.

"Yes, it does."

He lied. Every decade, he likened to a blink of an eye. Time passed too fast, especially when with her. He felt fear, but he would never admit it.

He just couldn't.

* * *

"Hey Kagome, I just called to tell you that I got some information from Jakotsu, a weird feudal era nut; about the things you asked me to look up last week. You know, as payback for the date. I know you hated it, so, so sorry.

"He seemed to have traced all the important bloodlines from the feudal era into present time and is obsessed in creating a book with a tell-all on all about the feudal era. He's really an all about nice guy, though – even if he's a little creepy.

"He said that there's a powerful Miko that still lives in Japan. She resides somewhat nearby and she reads fortunes for those who seek her.

"Her name is Kaede."

* * *

The smell of incense filled the room, suffocating it. Kagome used to pay little attention to scents before, but Sesshoumaru's influence had changed her in a sense that she was more sensitive to the things around her and their significance. It irked her when Sesshoumaru could tell what she had eaten (and drank!) five hours previous, no matter how often she brushed her teeth.

She wondered what possessed her to actually visit the self-proclaimed powerful Miko that she heard about from Ayame, not a very reliable source in the very beginning. It was a sure sign of her desperation to get Sesshoumaru out of the well. It was inhumane how someone, regardless of the fact that said person is hardly human; should be forced to stay inside such a place. She had no idea how Sesshoumaru stayed sane; she wouldn't. Which was why she visited him every day for the past week; whenever she had time, just to keep him company. She put up with his occasionally condescending tone, which she somewhat understood was because of his previous status, without complaint.

But she knew that company was no substitute for absolute freedom. And so she was hoping to learn more about barriers from the Miko in front of her, especially a certain barrier encaging The Lord of the Western Lands, but…

"I do not have the information you seek," said Kaede, regretfully, bowing her head slightly at Kagome in apology. The only reason Kaede has agreed to see her (she _was_, after all a rather prestigious Miko and was rather busy) was because she had sensed the dormant spiritual power in her and wanted to take her as an apprentice. Apparently, it has been many decades since someone with the talent had been born in Japan, Kaede supposedly being the most recent. Which, of course; spoke volumes as Kaede was a woman deep into her sixties. "I cater towards the defensive part of spirtual power. I might know how to build the barrier in question, but I have certainly no idea how to break it down. Truly, though; it is designed never to allow the intended being to wake, nor exit it."

"No leads again. Sesshoumaru will be so disappointed..." Kagome muttered under her breath with a sigh, silently filing away the little information she had gleaned for future reference.

"Did you just say Sesshoumaru?" asked Kaede, startled. "Lord Sesshoumaru, the Youkai who once ruled the Western Lands?"

"Er... Yeah..." Kagome began nervously, hoping that he did not massacre the older miko's ancestors or something equally bad. "Do you know something about him?"

"Unfortunately not. However, I do have something that was said to belong to him..." said Kaede, standing up.

She walked towards a wall panel and brushed her knuckles against them in a series of soft knocks. Her movements were precise and graceful, belying her age; making Kagome feel inferior with her awkward attempt to sit formally.

"If it is true that you are from the Higurashi shrine," Kaede continued, "And the fact that you are going to be my successor, you deserve to have this. The fact that you even know his name; something that only the trusted members of the shrine would be able to recognize is also reason enough."

Before Kagome could protest, the miko's hand began to glow as she pressed against a particularly hollow sounding panel. To Kagome's surprise, Kaede's hand went beyond the wooden panel and rifted through what seemed an invisible storage area of sorts. When Kaede apparently found what she was looking for, she brought her glowing hand out of the wall along with a sword protected with a beautiful looking scabbard.

She blew the dust off it and polished it with her sleeve.

"I understand," Kaede began. "The need for secrecy. Thus, I shall not ask you where exactly you learned of that name. 'Tis a strange mystery, although I doubt it is mine to unravel."

Turning towards Kagome, she held out the scabbard with both hands.

"Here."

Its name was inscribed on it, in a beautiful engraving of traditional Japanese kanji.

_Tetsaiga._

A/N: Sango was about to make her appearance this chapter, along with Miroku; but the chapter grew too draggy and boring. These parts are mostly set-ups for the major part of the plot - as it's going to start getting serious from now on. This section is a horrible pain to write, indeed; and it turned out really badly - and for that, I'm really sorry. T.T


	4. Meeting The Brothers

Sesshoumaru always knew that Youkai were superior to Humans. After all, Youkai were masters of the five senses, some including the sixth; had strength men could not hope to achieve, surpassed humans in every possible field. But Sesshoumaru never knew that Humans created talking boxes. His opinion on humans in general dropped a few notches.

However, it seemed that talking boxes were actually human inventions masquerading as communication devices. In truth, they were objects of torture, designed to make the welder die a slow death of anticipation.

Or so Sesshoumaru surmised when he managed to receive (after only three failed attempts) a call from a breathless Kagome, excitedly telling him that she had found his sword, Tetsaiga.

The scent of rubber against grass filled the air, accompanying dying squeaks that hinted that Kagome's mode of transportation was in a less than perfect condition.

"Hey!" Was her poor substitute for a polite greeting, "I'm coming down now,"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, hearing the usual clamor as Kagome put her 'bicycle' aside and climbed down the well. When he opened them, she stood before him, holding out both her hands, his sword in them.

"Thank you," Sesshoumaru found himself saying with sincerity he did not know himself to have. A becoming shade of pink diffused into the Miko's cheeks as the girl ducked her head. Sesshoumaru stubbornly tried to push aside to urge to touch her skin, just to see whether the bewitching colour would leave _any trace of heat..._

She was now biting her lip. He contemplated offering his help.

"You're welcome," she managed shyly, a not unwelcome change from her normal behavior, Sesshoumaru decided. He took the sword from her, careful that he was only in contact with the scabbard.

"This Sesshoumaru is going to try to break the barrier with Tetsaiga. I suggest that you leave in case it decides to rebound," he warned, his hand tracing the scabbard tentatively, the barrier already biting into his skin. He knew that the torment that came after his physically touched the hilt would make his current pain seem like lingering love bites. "Stay far away from the well if you do not want to get hurt. The attack might permeate the barrier completely."

Kagome gave a quick nod and moved to exit the well. She had probably seen the sparks enveloping his hand where his skin touched the sword's hilt as he wielded it cautiously. His father's legacy.

"Kaze no Kizu!" He tried. Whirls of wind swept around him, rippling through his hair and clothes. He felt power entwining from his arm to the sword. The points of power connected in one instant as he swung at the barrier, unfurling a huge explosion.

_But._

It didn't work.

The barrier simply refused to be destroyed. It even had the gall to absorb the attack, as if it was mocking him. Sesshoumaru refused to even contemplate the very idea that he might have possibly reinforced the barrier with his blow.

He threw the sword down, growling in frustration. The pain of his burnt hand dulled in comparison to disappointment. It swallowed his entire being, suffocating him. Claustrophobia clutched at him, the prospect of living indefinitely in a well looming threateningly. The urge to tear something apart, preferably himself began to throb in his chest. He hated himself. How could he, the Lord of the Western lands be reduced to state so pathetic?

His eyes began to bleed red, his claws lengthening and his silver hair flowing to coat his body. As he teetered on the verge of transforming, a small hand covered his.

All at once, the previously erratic aura that surrounded him began to calm. His eyes sluggishly receded back into its original colour. His claws retracted and his hair stilled. His anger slowly dissipated, as he took huge, deep, breaths, trying to compose himself.

"It's okay," Kagome said, simply; assuredly. She looked up at him with a comforting smile, without a hint of fear at his almost-transformation. "We'll find another way."

Somehow, as stupidly optimistic as she might have been, foolish even; Sesshoumaru _believed_ her.

**

"It's not as if you would actually understand anyway," sighed Kagome, apparently resigned from trying to explain her situation, despite it's pettiness to Sesshoumaru.

She prodded at the ground beneath her as she sat cross-legged opposite the Youkai; quite a distance away, of course - Sesshoumaru valued his personal space, even after all they have gone through. He was, after all; unlikely to change overnight merely because of a human girl, even if she was a Miko. "You don't have an annoying younger brother of your own. And it's really complicated, because of my mother and her new boy toy."

She was de-stressing on Sesshoumaru again, a habit she guiltily partook in. Her relationship with her family was "taboo" amongst her friends. Ayame's psychoanalyzing could only be tolerated until a certain extent and Sango, on the other hand was a staunch believer that; "Parents are second only to God and should be complied to in all matters." Besides, it didn't seem fair for her to complain to Ayame about her family when Ayame's own parents had been mutilated by wolves in an expedition to study rare plants. No doubt; the experience, coupled with overly enthusiastic psychiatrists were what caused Ayame to dabble in that field.

It had been a few days since the Tetsaiga incident, and Sesshoumaru had resumed his role of being the self-absorbed, arrogant person he was. It was as if his moment of vulnerability (a word she dared only to use privately) had only been a figment of her imagination.

"It seems that you now apparently know me well enough to make assumptions of me." Sesshoumaru answered dryly.

"Well, you _are_ Youkai." Kagome replied, blinking. She had a sinking feeling that Sesshoumaru was feeling a little miffed. He was easily offended, as powerful as he might be; something Kagome would have dubbed adorable should the word also mean 'really, really scary when prodded at'.

"Do you mean to imply that you do not think that Youkai have families of their own?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice strangely flat.

"I'm not insinuating anything. I simply assumed Youkai were creatures born from hatred and -" Kagome caught herself, realizing that she might be insulting a demon with pointy claws that dripped rather fatal poison, no matter how pretty the packaging might be. "Er... And _stuff_."

"Of course, our very existence is derived of human hatred," stated Sesshoumaru, dripping with sarcasm, one eyebrow cocked. "The world does not revolve around humans, Miko. Youkai - us, we are more complicated than that. It's an insult even to imply that."

"I'm sorry, really." Kagome quickly responded, knowing how Sesshoumaru loved to drivel on about Youkai's superiority to humans; once even stretching for hours at a time. She was getting strangely attuned to his quirks; something she found strangely endearing.

She stared at the Taiyoukai in front of her. It was a wonder how his eyebrows could portray emotions to such perfection. The corners of his mouth neither lifted nor sunk to show pleasure or anger; but with a single quirk of his eyebrow, or a lift in just such a way… Kagome was able to tell whether Sesshoumaru was merely mildly irritated or pissed beyond redemption.

"Why do you own a sword you cannot touch anyway? At least, not for extended periods of time?" She asked suddenly, diverting her eyes with a faint blush whilst trailing her fingers along the scabbard she dubbed as "really pretty".

Sesshoumaru had given the sword to her for safekeeping, or rather, Kagome took it away so that it would not remain in the well, serving as a constant reminder to him of its failure. Besides that, the well was already cluttering up with an assortment of books and manga. Sesshoumaru had, after all; developed a strange addiction to Yu Yu Hakusho.

"It belongs to my brother." Sesshoumaru said, his tone bordering dark. "I was given another sword. Or so I was told. My father was not very clear about his instructions – being dead. When my brother was sealed, I took Tetsaiga and left Tensaiga with him. Tetsaiga is the better sword, the sword that could kill hundreds of Youkai in one swing."

"Hundreds of Youkai?" gasped Kagome. "You mean you could just swing it and hundreds will die? Erm. Sounds very... fun. What does Tensaiga do then?"

"Firstly, Tetsaiga only takes to lives of lower level Youkai, of course. The sort that - as you eloquently put it; fester on hatred and other assorted malevolent feelings. Secondly, it is indeed very 'fun', especially when you are knee deep in those abominable creatures and have no other way to rid of them." Sesshoumaru replied dryly, eyes fixed on the sword on Kagome's hands. "Tensaiga allows me to see the pallbearers of the dead – giving me power over life."

"Isn't it a better sword then?" Kagome asked. She would rather have a sword that could heal. Her mind was full with possibilities on what it was capable of, including the normal debates on what was morally ethical.

"A sword's purpose is to kill." Sesshoumaru was adamant. "Not to heal. What use do I have of a sword that cannot slay my enemies?"

Kagome shifted uncomfortably. Sitting on the bottom of the well was definitely one of the least ideal places one could choose to position themselves in. "What use do you have then, of Tetsaiga, when you still cannot touch it?"

Sesshoumaru's eyebrows drew together in a frown. "I was looking for a method to use Tetsaiga. I went to look for Totousai, the forger of the sword. As I finally found a reliable lead, I encountered the Black Miko. You know the rest."

"Ouch." Kagome winced sympathetically.

"Indeed." He affirmed. "I had thought Tetsaiga contained the power to destroying the barrier. But it does not. Even so, I have yet to try using Toukijin or Tensaiga. Toukijin, I am sure the Black Miko has destroyed, as it was the sword I used against her. Tensaiga is still with Inuyasha."

"Did you just say Inuyasha?" Kagome blurted, eyes wide.

"Yes, Inuyasha." Sesshoumaru said indifferently. "A pathetic excuse for a name, is it not? It suits him, in its lack of subtlety and depth. Have I not told you his name?"

"No!" Cried Kagome. "And did you say my date smelt like a masked Youkai?"

"I did."

"Sesshoumaru, I might have found your brother!"

***

Kagome cycled home as fast as she could, intent of looking for the scrap of paper containing Inuyasha's number she had buried somewhere after the date. She never really expected to contact him, at least, not so recently. She still thought of the strange awkwardness between them as a bitter aftertaste.

When she finally managed to reach her apartment floor, after being almost squashed by the elevator door; the door burst open on her. The preparator was no other than Sango.

"Kagome! Thank God it's you!" Burst Sango as she latched onto Kagome in an embrace.

Kagome patted Sango's back gingerly. "What happened?"

Sango entangled herself from Kagome and took a deep breath, her brown eyes fixed directly on Kagome; a telltale sign of Sango before she winded herself up for a rant.

"I can't believe that my parents did this to me! For goodness sake, it's the bloody 21st century!" She cried, waving her hands about agitatedly.

Kagome blinked in confusion.

"What kind of person even engages their children to a son of a friend whom they haven't even met before!" Sango ranted, her face red from anger. "Mom and dad were worried that I would grow into an old unmarried maid! I don't understand it! I'm barely into my early twenties and just because I haven't started humping every man I meet doesn't mean I'll be an old dried up spinster with twelve cats!"

"You will, you know, tie the knot sooner or later. You might as well marry someone you hate outright that someone you love only to hate him in the future!" Kagome refrained from acting upon the urge to bang her head repeatedly against the wall at her pathetic attempt to cheer Sango up, fixing a bright smile on her face. Her cheeks hurt from the effort.

"That is so unfair! You're supposed to be on my side – and your argument doesn't even make sense anyway…" trailed Sango, running her hand through her hair in exasperation. "Besides, I'm legally an adult. I swear; it would be just fine to be engaged to a nice, conservative man. But just my luck, he turns out to be a… PERVERT!"

Sango turned around wildly to slap on the cheek of the person behind her with practiced ease. The hand fondling her behind was removed with a tinge of regret.

"I swear," Sango said to him, with fire in her eyes. "If you don't keep your lecherous hands to yourself, I'm sticking a gun up your ass and pull the trigger!"

"Dear Sango," drawled the strange man with a now swollen cheek. "I didn't know you had such plans for my, admittedly lovely behind."

"Yes, plans to decapitate it," retorted Sango, her hands clenched into fists. "-along with every part of your body!"

With that, she stalked off angrily.

The man, presumably Sango's newfound fiancé, wore a whipped look on his face. Kagome merely raised her eyebrows at the sight. He shook his head, as if forcibly extracting himself out of his reverie and turned to Kagome with a smile so wide it was unnerving.

"Ah, so you are a friend of Sango's?" His hands clasped hers.

"Er," began Kagome nervously, not quite sure how to respond to the person in front of her. Her mind raced for ways to extract her hands from his without causing irreparable damage on the other party. "Yes."

"Will you bear my child?"

"SMACK!"

Ignoring the mass of injured man now lying semi-comatose on the sofa, Kagome dug through her handbag before triumphantly dragging out the crumpled pulp, squinting at the blurred numbers.

***

It was just another day after work. She was, after all; a new doctor - regardless of her qualifications. Her job consisted of the most menial, degrading tasks a medical practitioner could possibly do. Despite that, Kagome was in high spirits, the prospect of unveiling her discovery of Sesshoumaru to the only person who could understand, or in other words; she could trust not to make a fuss about the issue. Or so she hoped.

Her high spirits had surprised even Naraku, who was used to her meeting his instructions with a false smile and a solid "Go to hell," behind her gray eyes. Her replacing her usual disposition with a sweet smile and a relatively sincere, "Is that all, sir?" caused Naraku to immediately issue her an appointment with another doctor. Of course, he was hardly kindhearted, as the appointment was set with Jakotsu, of which Kagome abhorred. The guy just couldn't stop insinuating that he wanted to strip her, only to wear her clothes for himself.

Kagome conveniently lost the note almost instantly. She had a nagging feeling that it was probably lying in the bottom of Naraku's ashtray, masquerading as cinders; but she could hardly be bothered to check.

"I'm guessing this is not about a second date, isn't it?" Inuyasha began, arching an eyebrow. His hand was draped on the wooden table that filled the small canteen in abundance. The clinic's canteen was hardly a suitable place for a meeting, considering the amount of trouble Kagome had to go through just to obtain the proper clearance for him to enter the private establishment.

"Very funny... Inuyasha, do you have a brother?" Straight to the point.

Inuyasha cringed. His entire body seemed to stiffen at the question. "What the hell? What kind of question is that all of a sudden?"

"I think I might know him."

"You don't even know me! What makes you think that you would know my brother? Why would I even tell you anything about myself anyway?"

"What's so difficult about informing someone that you have someone related to you?"

"It is when it's supposed to be private!"

"Well, you could just answer my question!"

"Why should I, bitch? You have no right to ask me all this crap!"

"Agh, you're even worse than Sesshoumaru you JERK!"

"Don't compare me to that bastar- Wait, you KNOW Sesshoumaru?" Eyes popped, mouth agape, Inuyasha was the very poster child of Shock.

"That's what I was trying to tell you, blockhead!"

"Didn't he disappear?"

"Well, he just reappeared, buddy!"

"I'm sorry that I'm not too excited about this, wench. That bastard tried to kill me ages ago!"

"Homicide attempts or not, he's still your brother!"

"Half-brother who, incidentally; tried to kill me!"

"Who apparently failed, since you're shrieking at me right now!"

"That's not the point!"

"The point is, I found your half-brother. He was locked up in a barrier for the past 500 years... And now, I need you to help me figure out how to free him!"

"Wha-? Barrier? 500 years?"

"Yes."

Inuyasha's features were instantaneously schooled into an emotionless mask, something Kagome had never seen before. At that very moment, Inuyasha's resemblance to his brother shone through. They bore the same gold eyes, unreadable, intense.

"Take me to the place."

***

"WAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! I can't believe you Sesshoumaru, you got sealed by a MIKO???" Was the taunt.

"Says the one who was stuck on a tree for a few years short of an eternity." Was the reply.

If he had been any other guy but Sesshoumaru, Kagome was sure a heartfelt "Fuck you," would be verbally expressed in the most emphatic way possible. However, since it was the Ice Prince in question, the message was undoubtedly delivered in a form of a piercing glare. Unfortunately for the Youkai, Inuyasha was on the other side of the barrier and thus was unable to appreciate the sentiment as much as Sesshoumaru would quite like him to.

Kagome closed her eyes, feeling a headache forming. She had thought reconciliation between brothers after centuries would have more endearment and less violence. Her choice to stay outside the barrier began to seem better and better with each passing minute, she could already hear the hissing of melting rock caused by Sesshoumaru's poisonous claws.

"But you were the one who was insulting all humans and their inferiority."

"Hello…! Human here!" Kagome waved her arms at Inuyasha, trying to divert his attention from baiting Sesshoumaru. It worked for all of three seconds.

"Sorry." Inuyasha had said flippantly, barely paying attention to her. "But back to the main course, me and my gloating."

Green fumes, presumably from melting rock begin to billow out from the well, past the barrier.

"This Sesshoumaru is now picturing the many ways he will torture you before you fall on your knees and beg for merciful death."

"Of course you will - if you could somehow get out from the barrier a mere HUMAN placed on you."

The green fumes began to form thick clouds.

"A _DARK_ MIKO."

"Sure... A dark HUMAN Miko placed on you, as if that's any better. And there you were, insulting me because of my human ties..."

Intervention, Kagome decided, was long overdue. She reached under her shirt to obtain a dog whistle before blowing it with all her might.

The resounding shrieks were undoubtedly undignified, something Kagome secretly found ironic. Both of them were, after all, supposedly prominent characters in the Youkai hierarchy. However, it seemed that both highly esteemed figures had just succumbed to the power of the almighty dog whistle.

"Now would you two listen to me?" Kagome demanded, as she gasped for breath.

Inuyasha nodded, eyes wide. As Sesshoumaru was invisible at present moment, Kagome decided to interpret his silence as an affirmative.

"Right," Kagome began. "What I want to do now is more than a lovely reunion-" Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest but quickly closed it after a glare from Kagome. "But a test on this barrier."

"This Sesshoumaru expected as much." Sesshoumaru said regally, as if trying to regain his dignity. "Inuyasha is-"

"Going to help us experiment on the conditions of the barrier," inserted Kagome quickly, trying to stop Sesshoumaru from further insulting her lab rat. "If Inuyasha can get into the barrier, it would mean that other than me; those of your kin are accepted as well."

"Wait," Inuyasha blinked. "You mean you got in? Are you part Youkai or a witch or something?"

"First of all, I apparently am a MIKO," corrected Kagome angrily. She resisted the petty urge to pick up nearby objects and pelt the person in front of her with them. "Secondly, I have no idea. All I've found out is that living things don't get in, but inanimate objects are perfectly fine."

"If you don't know anything about this barrier, what makes you think I would want to risk staying in the well forever just to help him out?"

"Kagome, I do not need his help," Sesshoumaru interjected. "This Sesshoumaru would rather rot in this infernal place than to be indebted to that louse."

Sesshoumaru would have elaborated further if Kagome had not impatiently pushed Inuyasha into the well.

"Oof."

There was a thud. Kagome peered over the well curiously.

"So are you in the barrier or what?" Kagome called.

"Get off me, you brat!" Was the reply.

"With pleasure, _brother_."

"Aha! It worked! It's one step down the well for Inuyasha, but one more step closer to freedom for Sesshoumaru!" Kagome crowed. She was in the midst of performing a victory dance when her conscience twinged and she was reminded of their less than smooth relationship that keeping both men alive was in her best interests. "Hey! Don't kill each other down there, will you?"

There was the sound of a head hitting repeatedly against the wall. It soon stopped to be replaced by solid punches and kicks. It was punctuated by the occasional groan, battle cries and screams of pain, of which most belonged to Inuyasha - a result of Sesshoumaru's build up of stress after being imprisoned and the earlier trade of insults.

Kagome sighed, slapped her hand to her forehead and realized that it was going to be a long, long day.

***

Kagome cycled home, sighing at the childishness the two brothers had displayed. (Especially the younger one, but she surmised he was entitled to behave as such; after all, Sesshoumaru had been trying to kill him for years before he was sealed) She was about to sink into her nice warm bed when a telephone call abruptly interrupted her fluffing her pillow.

With a heavy sigh, she rolled over slowly, in an attempt to reach the telephone.

"Is this a Miss Kagome Higurashi?" Said an alien voice.

"Yes?" Kagome asked cautiously.

"This is the Tokyo Police. We need you at the hospital immediately. It's about your family."


End file.
